John 17:3 - To Know God

This is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
John 17:3 (KJV)

How do we get eternal life? Jesus tells us clearly here - by knowing God the
Father himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal life requires entering
into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. [Life Application SB]

Christ defined eternal life as intimate personal knowledge of Father and
Son. Eternal life is not a possession but an eternal relationship. [Disciple
SB]

Eternal life, as defined here by Jesus, involves the experience of knowing
the only true God through His Son (cf. Matt. 11:27). It is a personal
relationship of intimacy which is continuous and dynamic. The word know
(????????????) here in the present tense, is often used in the Septuagint
and sometimes in the Greek New Testament to describe the intimacy of a
sexual relationship (e.g., Gen 4:1, "lay"; Matt. 1:25, "had... union"). Thus
a person who knows God has an intimate personal relationship with Him.
[Bible Knowledge Commentary]

What then does it mean to know God?  Undoubtedly there is an element of
intellectual knowledge. It means, at least in part, to know what God is
like; and to know that does make the most tremendous difference to life. . .
We enter into a new life, we share something of the life of God himself,
when, through the work of Jesus, we discover what God is like. It is eternal
life to know what God is like. . . . The Old Testament regularly uses know
for sexual knowledge. "Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bore
Cain" (Gen 4:1). Now the knowledge of husband and wife is the most intimate
there can be. Husband and wife are no longer two; they are one flesh. The
sexual act itself is not the important thing; the important thing is the
intimacy of heart and mind and soul which in true love precede that act. To
know God is therefore not merely to have intellectual knowledge of him; it
is to have an intimate personal relationship with him, which is like the
nearest and dearest relationship in life. . . . To know God is to know what
he is like, and to be on the most intimate terms of friendship with him.
[Barclay Commentary]

The experimental knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent,
transforms man into the image of God. It gives to man the mastery of
himself, bringing every impulse and passion of the lower nature under the
control of the higher powers of the mind. It makes its possessor a son of
God and an heir of heaven. It brings him into communion with the mind of the
Infinite, and opens to him the rich treasures of the universe.  COL114

To know him as our Creator, and to love him, obey him, submit to him, and
trust in him, as our owner ruler, and benefactor,-- to devote ourselves to
him as our sovereign Lord, depend upon him as our chief good, and direct all
to his praise as our highest end,-- this is life eternal. (Matthew Henry's
Commentary)

In Psa.46:10 the Lord calls us to silence and inactivity if we want to know
Him intimately. If it were not necessary, He would not admonish us to do it.
The language is so simple and direct and yet we continue to rattle off
non-stop chatter as we rush along the fast-track going our own way!  Why do
we do that? It takes self discipline and the help of the Holy Spirit to be
silent.  Even if we close our mouths, our minds race from one thing to
another:  the unexpected meetings; the unending errands; the unwritten
letters; and the unreturned phone calls. When is the last time you set aside
everything else to be still before God?  If you sincerely want to know Him
intimately, you will schedule some time soon!  How about today?  [In His
Time; Walk With Wisdom]

One may think of God as the "Force" or some other abstract idea.  And as
long as an individual thinks this, there shall be no growth in knowing God.
[In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]

We can know some things about God by observing His creation; but in order to
know God, Himself, Jesus Christ must reveal Him to us.  If you are a born
again believer, it is because Jesus Christ revealed Himself to you:  He
opened your spiritual eyes to see; He unplugged your spiritual ears to hear;
He softened your heart to respond.  Because we are chosen, we should respond
by searching out for ourselves all that is involved in being a child of the
Living God.  There is so much we do not yet understand about our new life;
there is even more that we do not understand about our new Father.  Begin
today by determining to know Jesus Christ better each day. [In His Time;
Walk With Wisdom]

Men who are not saved by the grace of Christ do not live, they only exist,
(Adam Clarke Commentary)